In the coming months, children with disabilities around the world – such as those who are blind or have dyslexia – will be able to read the Chinese story of Si Ma Guang, the boy who hurled a rock at a giant vat to save a friend from drowning in it.

For the first time, a book from Singapore has made it to a prestigious global collection of outstanding books for children with special needs.

Si Ma Guang And The Giant Jar – written by Ms Lee Seow Ser, 43, and illustrated by Ms Tan Ai Khim, 35 – is among 50 titles newly compiled by the Switzerland-based International Board on Books for Young People.

The board is behind the prestigious children’s literature prize, the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Every two years, it also puts together the best books for young people with disabilities.

These have to be for or about people with special needs, and the collection currently has over 4,000 titles in 40-plus languages.

The goal, said the North York Central Library in Canada that houses the books, is to “encourage inclusion at every level”.

Si Ma Guang And The Giant Jar, based on a Chinese fable, is a rarity in that it caters to children with various disabilities.

It has Braille dots for the blind, and text in font that is specially designed for readers with dyslexia.

It also has embossed elements, so readers can feel the outline of a jar, for instance.

Said Ms Lee: “We want kids to learn values from this story. Si Ma Guang was courageous to break the jar, unlike other children who panicked and ran away when their friend in the jar was drowning.”

Ms Leigh Turina, project leader for the collection, told The Straits Times: “The book was selected as an outstanding example of a tactile and Braille book in the category of specialised formats.”

The 50 titles selected this year will be displayed at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy in April, and then go on tour in other countries, including Britain, China, Japan, Turkey and the United States.

They will then be placed in the North York Central Library.

Si Ma Guang And The Giant Jar is the first Singapore-published book in the collection since it was started in 1985.

That it took Singapore over three decades to make it to the collection underscores the paucity of works of local literature that have been modified for children with special needs.

It is very rare to have local children’s books in Braille, let alone those with tactile pictures and text in dyslexia-friendly font – which means that a blind child can read the same book alongside another child who is not blind.

One key reason is cost, said Ms Hidayah Amin, founder of local publisher Helang Books, which published Si Ma Guang And The Giant Jar.

For instance, it cost over $6,000 to print 200 copies of the book.

Funding was mostly out of the team’s own pocket, with a few sponsors making up the rest.

The money will not be easily recouped through sales owing to the niche market, she said.

Some copies went free to visually impaired students at Lighthouse School. Its principal, Mr Koh Poh Kwang, said the team was “innovative” in producing such a book with the various special features, adding: “It’s a brilliant idea to bring kids of different abilities together.”

More can be done to support local authors in producing books for children with special needs, said those in the social service sector.

Said Ms Hidayah: “We went to some government agencies, asking them to buy our books but they said they could not be seen as endorsing a certain book, or that they could not support us as we are not a charity. But without funding support, it’s difficult to have more copies out there for special needs children.”

Disabled People’s Association executive director Marissa Lee said: “Much like the importance of having local role models, children with disabilities should also be able to read Singaporean stories that are inclusive. Those with disabilities can start to feel marginalised at an early age. Getting children with and without disabilities to read this book can help bring them all closer together.”

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 06, 2017.
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A publication by the inter-faith community in Singapore will be presented to Unesco in September, and is said to be the first of its kind in the world.

Simply titled 360, the publication is a compilation of 10 books.

Each book holds 360 scripture passages from holy texts of each of the 10 major religions here.

The project was initiated by Venerable Master Chin Kung, founder of a Buddhist college in Australia.

Master Chin, a permanent resident here, worked with members of the inter-faith community, including the Inter-Religious Organisation, to produce the publication.

There was a soft launch in November last year and, yesterday, Master Chin spoke about the project for the first time.

Speaking in Mandarin to about 240 people at the event in Furama RiverFront hotel, he said: “(Perhaps) the various deities are hopeful that Singapore can become the model country for the rest of the world in… promoting cross-learning between the religions.”

The event was presented by the hotel and IMC Organisation, which promotes multiculturalism.

He said each holy text can be voluminous, and it can take a long time to go through each one. The compilation features a “condensed version” of passages from each holy text , to make it easier for readers.

The 10 books have scriptural passages from the 10 main faiths practised here: the Baha’i faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, Taoism and Zoroastrianism.

Master Chin added: “We need to explain religious teachings clearly, explicitly and thoroughly, so that all followers have a clear understanding.

“Among religions, they need to mutually learn from one another. It is only through this that contradictions and conflicts can be avoided.”

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, guest of honour at the event, said having respect for other races and religions was important amid the growing trend of religious extremism.

“The acts of extremists aim to harm what is most precious to our societies, which is the mutual trust and cohesion between communities. There is also worry of a rising political rhetoric that… propounds a more insular worldview and less tolerance for diversity,” he said.

The publication is not for sale and will be made available to religious institutions.

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 06, 2017.
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The bus jerked twice and came to a sudden stop.

The motion caused a woman passenger to fall onto Mr Peter Jansen, 64, who then tumbled backwards onto his wife who was the last to board the SBS Transit bus in East Coast Road.

As a result, his wife Elizabeth Jansen, 60, a marketing supervisor, who was standing next to the ticketing machine, fell on her back.

They would later discover that Mrs Jansen had a fractured pubic bone and would have to be hospitalised for six weeks, and would take another two months to fully recover.

The incident happened on Saturday around noon after the couple boarded bus service 14 at Katong Omega Apartment.

Mr Jansen, a retired airline cargo planner, told The Straits Times: “I shouted at the bus driver to stop but he didn’t listen. Some passengers and I carried my wife to the seats at the front of the bus.

“I think he gave us a glance but… he continued driving while my wife was in terrible pain.”

Despite repeated attempts to get the bus to stop so he could get help for his wife, Mr Jansen said the driver continued on and even allowed passengers to board the already crowded bus.

While he attended to his wife, two passengers had approached the bus driver to ask him to stop the bus but he did not, said Mr Jansen.

“So I went up to him and told him to stop and call an ambulance, but he said ‘Uncle, give me chance’.”

The driver eventually called the SBS Transit headquarters and an ambulance arrived to take Mrs Jansen to Changi General Hospital.

While his immediate concern was for his wife and payment of her medical bills, one question he had was about protocol in such incidents.

“It’s important that bus drivers know how to react in such a situation. I don’t know if he was following protocol, but he should at least have stopped the bus to help.”

SBS Transit’s senior vice-president for corporate communications Tammy Tan said: “Our focus is to assist Mrs Jansen as best as we can while we investigate the matter.

“We have been to the hospital to inquire about her well-being and will continue to keep close tabs on her. We hope she feels better soon.”

This article was first published on Feb 06, 2017.
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Bus stops are not known for being particularly happy places – especially as commuters wait to head off to work in the mornings.

But MP Liang Eng Hwa has been aiming to change that. Since January last year, he has regularly surprised residents waiting at bus stops with snacks such as muffins, curry puffs or muruku.

His latest effort was last Friday morning. Between 7am and 8am, he and grassroots leaders distributed more than 400 bags of pineapple tarts and mandarin oranges to commuters at Block 458 Segar Road, under an initiative called Happy Bus Stops @ Zhenghua.

Mr Liang, an MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, uses the opportunity to ask about the reliability of bus services in his ward in Bukit Panjang, a growing town which has seen nine new public housing developments sprout up in the last five years.

There are now about 14,000 households, up from 11,000-plus previously.

“We like to hear first-hand about people’s experience with public transportation. As the population builds up, we want to see whether public transport can cope,” he said.

So, for instance, the latest feedback he has received is that loop service 972, which goes from Bukit Panjang to town and back, is usually delayed on the return leg in the mornings.

This affects students going to West Spring Secondary School from Segar Road, and he intends to bring up this issue to the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

To help fund Happy Bus Stops, Mr Liang taps a little-known scheme by the LTA, called the BSEP Publicity Grant.

It is made available alongside the Government’s $1.1 billion Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), which started in 2012 and has injected 820 new buses onto the roads islandwide as at September.

When asked about the publicity grant, LTA said it “supports ground-up efforts that are initiated by the community to encourage the use of public transport and increase awareness of (its) BSEP at the local level”.

It declined to give details of the scheme, including who is eligible and how much has been disbursed over the years.

The grant amount is believed to be capped at $5,000 annually for applicants, believed to be grassroots advisers.

Besides Mr Liang, Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Ang Hin Kee has used it as well, over the last three years.

Mr Ang has used it, together with funds from the citizens’ consultative committee, to produce newsletters sent to all 15,000 households in Cheng San-Seletar.

The newsletters, now in their third edition, help to keep residents apprised of new bus routes and offer updated information, such as which bus services are wheelchair friendly, Mr Ang said.

He added: “We want to get residents to consider walking, cycling and taking public transport.”

Residents said the MPs’ outreach efforts are a good gesture but what is key is bus connectivity.

Zhenghua is one of those which have benefited from BSEP and other improvements.

For instance, bus service 972 was launched in November 2013 and the service was extended to Senja Road in June 2015 to benefit more residents.

Resident Julie Tang, 40, a retail manager, said: “In the past, we didn’t have many bus services, and had to use the LRT. Now we have more choices.”

Transport consultant Gopinath Menon said creating publicity around BSEP can help raise awareness of how much bus services have been ramped up since 2012.

“Some people may have this perception that public transport is not very good, so it’s good to keep on reminding them to try it out.”

adrianl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 06, 2017.
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My father, Mr Devan Nair, and Mr Fong Swee Suan were close friends. Jailed together for three years from 1956 to 1959, my father was Mr Fong’s “Indian brother”, and Mr Fong, my father’s “Chinese brother”.

Many years later, Mr Fong recalled that he taught my father Chinese in prison, with little success; and my father taught him English, with a little more success.

As fortune would have it, when the People’s Action Party (PAP) split in 1961, the two friends found themselves leading rival trades union federations – Mr Fong, the Singapore Association of Trade Unions, which was affiliated to the Barisan Sosialis; and Mr Nair, the National Trades Union Congress, which was affiliated to the PAP.

The parting of ways was painful for both men. But they never doubted each other’s sincerity. They both knew the other was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for his beliefs.

One memory from my childhood that I have never forgotten was the simple dinner my parents gave Mr and Mrs Fong when they married. The event took place in our home a few months before the split, when the writing was already on the wall. Despite the bitter political battle that was looming, the two men retained great warmth for each other.

Many years later, in the mid-1980s, when Mr Fong became ill, my father arranged for him to return to Singapore for treatment.

Mr Fong was then living in Johor, and was prohibited from entering Singapore. The Singapore Government gave Mr Fong permission to return, and my father insisted Mr Fong stay with him in his home.

My father is no longer here to pay tribute to his old friend. But I know what would have been in his heart.

When Mr Lim Chin Siong, Mr Fong’s close comrade, died in 1996, Mr Nair quoted these lines from T.S. Eliot’s Little Gidding in his tribute to Mr Lim. The same lines express what would have been in my father’s heart about his old friend, Mr Fong Swee Suan:

We cannot revive old factions
We cannot restore old policies
Or follow an antique drum.
These men, and those who
opposed them
And those whom they opposed
Accept the constitution of
silence
And are folded in a single party.
Whatever we inherit from the
fortunate
We have taken from the defeated
What they had to leave us – a
symbol:
A symbol perfected in death.

Read also:
Fong Swee Suan: No reason to feel resentful about past
Founding PAP member, left-wing union activist Fong Swee Suan dies
PM Lee sends condolence letter to widow of former leftist union leader Fong Swee Suan

This article was first published on Feb 6, 2017.
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Everything has to come to an end, sometime, children’s book writer L. Frank Baum so famously wrote in The Marvellous Land Of Oz.

And so it is with the Angus Ross Prize, given to the top A-level English literature student outside Britain.

Since it was first awarded for performance in the 1987 exam, Singapore students have won every year except in 2000.

Last year, Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), which awarded the prize, discontinued the award.

The last prize was awarded in 2015 to Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) alumnus Raymond Scott Lee, who sat the national exam in 2014. He beat about 12,000 candidates.

A CIE spokesman told The Straits Times last week that the decision was made after a review.

“The normal evolution of the relevant Singapore-Cambridge and Cambridge International qualifications has gradually created differences in the assessments, such that the comparisons between the two to support the award of the Angus Ross Prize are becoming increasingly challenging,” he said.

Top Singapore literature students have outperformed their peers from other countries, including New Zealand, Mauritius and the United States.

Winners received a bank draft worth £100 (S$175) and a commendation letter from Cambridge.

Since 2010, the CIE had narrowed its search for the winner to the pool of Singapore candidates.

CIE told The Straits Times in 2015 that past experience showed the “clear winners were always among Singapore candidates”.

The prize is named after Dr Angus Ross in honour of his long association with CIE as chairman of the A-level English literature examiners.

The winner is selected by a panel of senior examiners who look for, among various criteria, maturity of thought and brilliance of expression in students’ scripts.

Past Singapore winners include the late theatre actress Emma Yong, who died of stomach cancer at age 37 in 2012, and Mr Li Shengwu, who is a grandson of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

He is now in Harvard on a fellowship.

The Ministry of Education “currently does not award a top academic award in any subject” and has no plans to introduce an award to replace the Angus Ross Prize.

HCI produced half of the 28 Singapore winners, including the first winner Mavis Chionh, now the second solicitor-general of the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Mr Lee, the 2015 winner, said the award was an affirmation of the efforts put in by students and teachers.

“It also generates interest among the public for literature as a meaningful academic subject.”

The 21-year-old full-time national serviceman plans to read law at the National University of Singapore.

He said students do not work hard just to get the accolade.

“It’s not the main goal, but just a bonus when they get their A-level results.”

calyang@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on February 6, 2017.
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